Knowledge, Awareness and Prevalence of Hepatitis B Among Urban Slum Dwellers and Residents of Social Welfare Home: A Cross sectional Study From Eastern India.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In view of limited data on the knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the available preventive strategies at the community level, it was aimed to analyse the knowledge and awareness of HBV in the community.

METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted among residents of an urban slum and a social welfare home in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, from October 2019 to April 2021. The prevalence of HBV infection was also measured by testing the serum positivity for hepatitis B surface antigen using rapid point-of-care test kits. The statistical analysis was done by using the software SPSS version 20.

RESULTS: A total of 370 individuals (mean age 38.7 ± 14.9 years, males: 55.1%) were assessed. Although 18.1% (67) had good knowledge, only 16.7% (62) had good awareness about HBV. Approximately 14.8% (55) knew that a vaccine is available in the country for HBV, and 6.2% (23) identified themselves as being vaccinated. Educational status was a significant independent predictor of knowledge and awareness such that people with education level of matriculation and above had odds of 11.05 (95% confidence interval: 5.3-22.7) and 14.7 (95% confidence interval: 6.5-33.1) for having good knowledge and awareness regarding HBV, respectively. A total of 10 participants tested positive for hepatitis B surface antigen contributing to a point prevalence rate of 2.7%. The proportion of individuals with an education status of matriculation and above was higher in the slum area when compared with the welfare home (67% vs 33%; P  < 0.001), the knowledge (71.6% vs 28.4%; P  < 0.001) and so was the awareness (71% vs 29%; P  < 0.001) about HBV as well.

CONCLUSION: The relatively low figures of knowledge and awareness identified in our study undermine the need for intensification of health education and promotion activities regarding the prevalence of hepatitis B infection on a large scale at the community level.